Olga Letykai-Csonka

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Chamane • Suisse

I grew up in a matriarchal culture, that is to say ruled by women, in which each individual is considered sovereign in the role assigned to him to ensure the preservation and expansion of the clan. Gender equality is a concept that goes without saying in my culture

Olga Letykai Csonka is a shaman from Chukotka, an autonomous district in the far northeast of Russia. Coming from a family of Chukchi nomadic reindeer herders, she is also impregnated with Inuit culture by her mother. His songs, dances and his Chukchi practice exalt nature, in particular the animals which have a central place in this spiritual approach to existence.


I grew up in a matriarchal culture, that is to say ruled by women, in which each individual is considered sovereign within the role assigned to him and works for the preservation and expansion of the clan. . Gender equality is a concept that goes without saying in my culture.

Hello, my name is Olga Letykai Csonka and I was born in 1972 in Emmelen, a remote village in Chukotka in the far northeast of Russia. I am of Chukchi descent on my mother’s side and of Inuit descent on my father’s side. Coming from two shamanic lines of my two parental clans, I am a shaman, healer and singer. My land is the Arctic and I am also particularly sensitive to the balance of its ecosystem, having since my childhood lived the life of nomadic reindeer herders as well as the hunting of marine mammals. Today my people see species migrating north in search of colder temperatures, both on land and at sea. We are thinking about appropriate solutions to these changes. I like to transmit some aspects of the traditional culture of the Arctic by performing traditional dances and songs related to the traditions of my people. I am committed to the protection of indigenous peoples of the Arctic through my UN mandate to represent 41 indigenous peoples of the Far East of Russia to defend the human rights of indigenous peoples. I participated as a representative of the Arctic in many events (FEM Davos, EFF Vladicostok, COP21 Paris, ADÄKA Ukon, Agenda 20-30 New-York, IUCN Marseille, Artic Circle Island, ICC,..) I I grew up in a matriarchal culture, that is to say ruled by women, in which each individual is considered sovereign within the role assigned to him and works for the preservation and expansion of the clan. Gender equality is a concept that goes without saying in my culture.